Farscape Epic RPG: Rules Of Engagement
by Chant99
Summary: Based on my RPG: A heartbroken Chiana flees Moya and runs into trouble. The rest of the crew frantically search for her while Berret is forced to face his true feelings for the Nebari girl. There can be only one solution to their relationship.
1. Foreword

THE FARSCAPE EPIC RPG UNIVERSE: NEW CHARACTERS & SETTING.  
  
Author's Note: This story was written based on the characters from my Farscape RPG group. I thought I'd try posting it here to see what others thought. But first I need to explain a bit about our RPG so you can follow the extra characters.  
The name of the group is "Farscape Epic RPG" and it can be found on Yahoo groups for those who wish to look us up. The game is based in an alternate Farscape universe that diverges from the shows timeline somewhere after Talyn's birth but before the Chiana/D'argo relationship.  
The Berret character here is basically the same Shrike 457 character from the "Fallen Angel" series posted here at Fanfiction.net. Though the original meeting between Chiana and the Shrike took place in a different way in the game.  
The other new characters in this story are original player characters.  
  
Andar Murdough - is a Sebacean teacher from a forgotten and lost colony. Andar's people have lost so much knowledge over the cycles that space flight is considered science fiction. Andar is abducted by aliens who experiment on his brain trying to increase intelligence. The project works much better then they thought and Andar steals a shuttle and eventually finds his way to Moya. Andar becomes a sponge for any sort of knowledge and begins to go through Moya's data banks learning everything he can. He often sees machines or gadgets in his mind and will disappear for days into his workshop to build them.  
  
Malika Phatan - is a 125-year-old Delvian teenager. After spending a number of cycles as a Peacekeeper slave aboard a command carrier, she and her mother escape in a Prowler, but at the cost of the life of a young PK officer who fell in love and secretly married Malika. After a time of running and hiding, the pair run into a Syndicate Shrike and the meeting leaves young Malika with an intense hatred and distrust for the Enforcers when the assassin kills a client Malika took a job bodyguarding for, and almost kills her and her mother in the process. Sometime after that, Malika's mother is tragically killed, leaving the girl alone. She hears a story about an escaped Leviathan with a Delvian Pa'u aboard and sets out to find the living ship with the hopes of fulfilling her mother's dream of her becoming a Pa'u. She finds Moya and Zhaan (who is alive in our game) and the older Delvian agrees to take her in. However, now there is a Shrike aboard Moya as Chiana's companion and she is having a hard time controlling the tendencies for violence she developed during the hard life she lived on the run from the Peacekeepers. Through young, Malika is also a skilled healer and thanks to her parents, an educated student of exobiology. She sets up a small lab on one of Moya's lower tiers, mostly to hide out from having to be around Berret ... and possibly Andar. Both Andar and Malika feel an attraction to each other, but the Delvian isn't sure she wants to open her heart to another after what happened to her Peacekeeper husband.   
  
Sean Crichton - 70 years after the disappearance of astronaut John Crichton, his descendant Sean uses John and DK's research to construct the Wander module. In an attempt to prove that his ancestor's theories were sound, Sean repeats the slingshot effect and is also thrown halfway across the universe only with a slightly different result. The Wander module is somehow draw backward in time to the Farscape module's location and is expelled from a wormhole near Moya. Sean finds himself stunned to be surrounded by a group of aliens and suddenly faced with a family legend.   
  
This story takes place approximately 2 cycles after Berret and Chiana meet. John and Aeryn have recently wed and in the near future Rygel will eventually be returned to the Hynerian throne with the help of his crewmates. The relationship between Chiana and Berret is now strained more then ever. Chiana believing that she is a hindrance to Berret and that she's somehow failed to fulfill the prophecy that Grandmaster Shenna predicted, leaves the Shrike and Moya so that he could continue free of her influence.  
Her plan is short lived when she falls prey to slavers and is captured. Berret and the rest search for the lost Nebari, while the ex-assassin blames himself for driving her away from the safety of the group. He's also finally forced to face his true feelings for Chiana as much as he tries to deny them. In the end, there can only be one workable solution for the couple.  
  
This story is the lead in for the "Future Tense" series. There are two more stories in the Future Tense time frame and two more stories yet that follow this one - all four are only partly done and I will post them as soon as possible. Thank you and enjoy, Chant99 


	2. Chapter 1

Crunch...  
Berret looked up from his book to gaze at the Nebari girl sprawled across the other side of the bed. Chiana wasn't paying much attention to the Shrike, as she was so absorbed in the crispy snack cubes she was devouring with gusto. She noisily sucked the crumbs off each of her thin pale fingers as Berret turned back to his book. He found the place where he left off and settled in to continue his reading.  
Crunch... Crunch...  
The Shrike rolled his eyes and glared at the gray woman as he closed the book and let it flop to the bed between them.  
"You're getting crumbs in the bed," he complained to her.  
"Sorry," was her muffled reply but she didn't stop eating her snacks. "Have one," she offered, holding out a plate that had only two of the treats left on it. The plate had been full to over flowing when she brought it into his quarters. Within a half arn the small woman had demolished the pile of cubes. Berret wondered to himself where the tiny female put it all.  
"No, thank you," he said rather coolly as he swung his feet off the bed and stood up.  
"What's the matter with you?" asked Chiana.  
"Its rather annoying to have to sleep with crumbs all over the bed. You are somewhat of a messy eater," he told her.  
"Oh?" she said snidely, "Is there anything else about me you find 'annoying'?"  
"Yes. You have a habit of leaving your undergarments all over my lavatory."   
"Well, excuse me! I thought we were friends," she retorted.  
"Is it common on Nebari Prime for friends to trash their friend's living quarters?"  
"If you feel that way about it, then I'll frelling leave!" shouted Chiana as she rose from the bed.  
  
The girl started to stalk toward the door and Berret felt his heart drop out of his chest at the thought of her leaving angry. He caught her arm as she stormed passed him on her way out.  
"Pixie...wait," he said.  
"What?" she asked with an angry glare.  
"I... I'm sorry. I don't know why I said those things," Berret said to her.  
"We seem to be having a lot of disagreements lately," said the girl as she crossed her arms in front of her.  
"I know. I'll try and do better," he promised.  
"Listen 'Ret, I've been thinking... maybe we have been spending too much time together and that's why we're getting on each other's nerves," Chiana said, the comment actually more question than statement.  
Berret felt his blood run cold at her words. He'd felt lately that there was something missing between them or rather that there should have been something more, but he didn't know what. That feeling of an empty space was what was making him react strangely, the emptiness somehow made him feel... well, insecure. He wanted to be in the woman's company as much as possible, not have less of it. Unfortunately by her statement it appeared to Berret that Chiana might want less of his companionship.   
  
"I think it would be better if I just go back to my quarter's... that way we won't be arguing over every little thing," said the Nebari as if she were sounding him out on the idea.  
Not knowing what else to do, Berret released her arm and nodded his head as if he agreed with her.  
She looked up at him with her dark eyes as if waiting for him to say something more, but he thought it would be selfish of him to ask her to stay when it was so obvious that she preferred to leave at that microt. It then occurred to him that the woman had stayed with him out of a sense of responsibility and now she was growing wary of the chore of having to always look after him. She had given him more then he'd had the right to ask for, and regardless of what he might have felt for her... it wouldn't be acceptable to continue to encumber the Nebari girl. The constant fighting had to be her rebelling at the chain he had become, the proper thing to do would be to remain silent and not push his feelings...or his company, onto the girl. When he didn't say anything further, Chiana said goodnight and left his quarters. As soon as the door cycled closed behind the girl the room seemed to grow as large as a cavern and as silent as a tomb. Until then he hadn't realized just how much of the normal background noise in his life had revolved around Chiana's presence. The rustle of her clothing, the laugh that could range from a delightful tinkle to an annoying bark, the sound of her sighing in her sleep, all had become part of his everyday life. Lost in the silence of his quarters Berret thought he would explode. Not knowing what else to do and not being able to stand the empty room much longer, he put his boots back on and went down to the makeshift gym on the next tier. Hoping that just maybe he could exercise this odd feeling out of himself.   
  
Chiana quarters seem foreign to her now as she realized how little time she actually had spent in them since Berret came aboard. After he was released from his cell they'd spent the first few night staying up and talking until they both fell asleep. It had become routine and Berret never complained about the loss of privacy, somewhere along the way she had come to consider his quarters "theirs" without realizing it. She looked at her own bed and thought that it looked huge compared to the one in Berret's room even though she knew that they were both exactly the same size. It looked... empty, she concluded as she sat down on the soft mattress. It then occurred to her that she could probably count the number of times the Shrike had been inside her quarters on the fingers of one hand, except for that time they'd had too much to drink, the man had never sleep here. He'd never showed up with a tray of snack cubes or with anything to drink. He never stopped by to visit, to kick his boots off and stay all night to chat with her... never, not once in all this time. Chiana's eyes felt heavy with un-shed tears as she realized that everything had been on her part. Berret never seemed to have sought out her company on his own. He had really never made an effort to be with her. Inwardly she berated herself for not seeing the signs; the man only tolerated her out of gratitude. At first he was lost and had no one else to turn too, but now as he found more of himself and recovered more of his personality. He was starting to resist against her constant hovering in his life. She realized that in the beginning it thrilled her to have someone depending on her, to have someone need her. Then she enjoyed the equal companionship their relationship had evolved into. After meeting the Delvian Shrike Grandmaster, Shenna, she realized that somehow their relationship meant more then friendship to her. Somewhere along the way she'd fallen in love with Berret almost without realizing it was happening.  
  
Shenna had told her that they had a future together and that she would know when to pursue it. Somehow, somewhere, she missed her cue. She waited or hesitated too long and the moment passed them by. Berret had let her leave without really even trying to stop her, without even really saying anything. He just nodded his head as if he agreed with everything she'd said... almost like he wanted her to go. A single tear escaped and rolled down her pale cheek and she wiped it away on one sleeve. The old man had said Berret was in love with her, if he ever was... she was sure he wasn't now. She'd done it again and driven someone else she cared about away. All she had to do was teach him about love and instead she taught him how not to be able to stand her company anymore. All they had done lately was argue and fight, now Berret didn't want to be near her and he seemed more dispassionate and guarded then ever. It was obvious that the man wanted his space from her. Everything he'd worked for in regaining his sense of self was slowly being stifled out of him because of her. More tears came as Chiana made her decision to stay out of Berret's life, so he could go on without her interference. She ached to talk with Zhaan or one of the others, but she didn't want to hear the "I told you so," she knew she would get. They all thought she was too young to be able to help Berret find what he'd lost, to regain some of his humanity. The others constantly told her that was a task for a mature mind. To make matters worse, she decided that they would be right. She was too young and she had frelled things up... just like she always did.  
Her heart breaking she also knew she couldn't stay here aboard Moya with him feeling the way she did. She decided she would prove them wrong. She had taken responsibility for bringing Berret aboard and she would give him one more gift... his freedom from her. She would step aside and give him the room he needed to grow. Just as a mother would sacrifice herself for her child's welfare, she would set aside her own well-being and security for someone she loved. The decision made, she felt her room closing in around her as she got up off her bed. Grabbing the largest bag she could find at the moment, the girl began stuffing clothes and other personal items inside it.  
"I have to get out of here," Chiana murmured to herself.  
  
Chiana landed the Transport Pod at the landing port of the commerce planet's largest city. Moya had been orbiting the planet for two solar days while Rygel and Crichton arranged trade agreements and a contract to haul cargo in-system for a merchant. Pilot had tried to talk her out of leaving but she had reminded him of his promise that any of them where free to leave Moya at any time and she held him to it. Pilot relented and reluctantly promised not to tell the others of her decision to leave until one of them inquired about her whereabouts. She told him she would leave the Pod at the city's spaceport for the others to pick up later and left Moya without saying any further good-byes. While she had flown over the city in a holding pattern waiting for permission to land, she had a good view of the planet's outlaying areas. The world was covered mostly in great deserts where huge savage sand storms ranged. When one threaten the few cities scattered over the planet's surface, immense force-screens where erected over the populated areas. While the screens were active, no ships could land or leave during the storms. The Nebari girl picked up her bag and tossed it over one shoulder before exiting the pod. Sadly, she turned and gave the familiar ship one last look before closing and locking it up.  
"Well, I guess it had to end sometime," she said out loud to herself. "I've been on my own before and did okay. I'll just find somewhere to crash, check out the nightlife and try to find a way off this sand-ball... shouldn't be too difficult. Just like old times."  
She kept telling herself that over and over again as she wandered off into the crowded streets.  
  
"What do you mean, 'she's gone'!" thundered D'argo.  
"I mean gone... as in, Chiana has left the building," answered Crichton.  
Berret stood stunned, his heart having turned to ice at the news. The Luxan whirled in his direction.  
"You!" he growled out. "This is your doing. What did you say to her?" he demanded.  
"We... we had a small disagreement last night and she returned to her quarters. She never said anything about leaving Moya," stammered out the Shrike.  
"Well, your 'small disagreement' was obviously upsetting enough that Chiana felt she had to jump ship," Aeryn put in.  
Feeling guilty, Berret confessed, "We have been arguing often now, since the wedding. I don't know why."  
"I see," drawled Rygel as he moved his thronesled closer to the ex-assassin until he was floating nose to nose with the man. "Well, maybe if you made up your frelling mind about what you wanted, the two of you wouldn't fight so much!" exclaimed the Hynerian in hot anger.  
Two things took Berret aback. The first being that Rygel had hit the cause of most of their problems right on the head, If only he could find the courage in himself to tell her how he sometimes felt - even though he knew nothing could ever come of it. The second thing was that the Dominar was visibly worried about Chiana... enough that he almost ran the Shrike down with his floating throne as he berated him. Not something the normally self-centered Hynerian would have the courage to do.  
"Enough Rygel, it is not Berret's fault. Chiana is a free-willed individual," said Zhaan. "If she chose to leave then we must respect her decision."  
"That's all very nice, Blue... but do you mind if we go down and find her to make sure that's what she really wants before we say our good-byes?" asked Crichton.  
"No, of course not, John. I was going to suggest that," answered the Pa'u.  
"Good. Pilot, how long until that sand storm over the city dies out?"   
"About .75 of a solar day, Commander," replied Moya's pilot.  
"Great... then we sit here and wait until then," John said to the group. "I'm going to the central chamber for something to eat. Anyone want to join me?"  
Most of the crew left with John, leaving Zhaan and Berret alone on the Command tier. D'argo's parting glare was more one of disappointment then of hate, which made Berret feel worse then he already did. The Shrike wordlessly started to gaze out at the storm-covered planet below them. Somewhere below was Chiana, alone and on her own. If someone had to leave it should have been him, he was the one who didn't really belong. Zhaan came to stand by his side, knowing the man was upset she tried to comfort him.  
"She'll be alright, Jared," she promised. Berret was silent for a few microts before saying,  
"You were wrong, Zhaan. It is my fault she left... the others were right."  
Before the Delvian could say anything further the Shrike turned and left the tier also.  
  
Chiana wandered around the storefronts and market place. She tried to distract herself with looking over all the different items that were for sale, but as she got into it she found herself turning around several times to ask Berret's opinion on something, only to find herself alone. Two arns of traveling around the city brought her no closer to finding somewhere to lodge for the night. She decided it was time to become serious about that task and started to turn away from the shop window she'd been looking in when she caught something familiar out of the corner of her eye. Going back she pressed her face up against the window to get a better view of the objects that had snagged her interested.  
"By the Goddess!" she murmured in astonishment and then turned to rush inside the store.  
Like a Nebari whirlwind the girl descended upon the shop and had the proprietor pull the items that had caught her eye from his front window. On closer inspection they were even more beautiful then she had first thought. In her open hand she held two earrings that were in the shape of a three-loop triangle with intertwining knot work running through each loop connecting them all together. They were Nebari Bonding earrings. The three loops signified man, woman, and family with the knot work binding them together as one. Her and Nerri's parents had had a pair that was almost as lovely as these. Finding them here outside the Nebari system was nothing short of a miracle. The thought froze the girl for a microt, miracle or a sign? Was this what the old Delvian was talking about? Was finding these earrings so far from home at this time and place the sign and the clue to where Berret and her relationship should go next? Maybe they needed this next step and that's why they both had been fighting... they both needed something more from each other, to openly declare that they would be together forever like Aeryn and John had.  
"They are a fine choice," said the shop owner, bringing the girl out of her deep thought. "They're..." he started to explain.  
"I know what they are," Chiana said cutting him off. The thought of stealing them passed through her mind but she quickly pushed the idea away. Something this important, this sacred... should not be begun or built on the first step being theft. Nebari Bondings were not taken lightly; when you bonded with someone you did it for life and with all of your heart and love. Nothing should be allowed to cheapen the gift. Even at her wildest, she would never have considered bonding to somebody lightly... there were some lines even she would never have crossed no matter how reckless she felt like being.  
"How much do you want for them?" she found herself asking before she realized it.  
The shop owner named a price that was slightly more then half the credits she had with her. She almost decided against purchasing the earrings but the mental picture she had was too alluring. Berret and her kneeling before an alter facing each other while their patrons of honor waited to simultaneously pierce their left ears as they completed their vows to each other, then the slight pleasurable sting as they promised to hold each other's souls dear forever. Without further thought or debate she dug out her credits and paid the man the asking price. She paused a microt to gaze at the earrings before deciding on securing them in one of the hidden pockets about her clothes. She chose one that was barely big enough to hide a couple of coins in but was more then large enough to hide what she now considered more valuable then money. As she exited the store she made a mental note to ask Zhaan and Malika to bless them before the bonding ceremony. Now all she had to do was talk Berret into bonding with her she thought, hoping it would be as simple as that. She believed that the man could feel that way for her, she just wished she knew for sure. Shenna had said she would be the one who had to take the chance and show Berret his heart. She guessed that now would be the time to set aside her doubts and give it a try. The way Chiana saw it; there was nothing else to lose if her and Berret were ever going to be together. That settled, she decide to find somewhere to have a drink to celebrate her decision before returning to the Transport Pod at the landing port. It would be late the next morning before the storm lifted and she was able to return to Moya. Maybe in the meantime she could comm her crewmates and make her apologizes for taking off. They'd be cross with her but she could handle that as long as she got the chance afterwards to talk with Berret, if things went well with their conversation over the comm tonight, she would pop the question tomorrow after she got back to Moya.  
  
The three quarters of the solar day dragged by slowly for the ex-assassin, who neither slept nor ate very much. The second Transport Pod from Moya touched down a few rows over from the one Chiana had taken over a day before. The hatch hadn't fully opened before the fully armored Shrike leaped clear and hit the ground. His metal shod footsteps rang in the late morning air as he stalked his way over to the first Pod and keyed the hatch. The rest of the crew had just finished securing their transport and where gathering at the bottom step of the gangway when Berret reappeared.   
"Nothing. There is no sign of her," he reported.  
"Do you mind if we have a look to be sure?" asked John, a little annoyed with the man's rushing off.  
"Do as you wish," Berret replied as he pulled his cloak's hood up over his head and started off into the streets.  
Crichton rolled his eyes. "Somebody stop him," he said as he made a move to follow Berret.  
To the human's surprise, D'argo caught his arm and halted him.  
"John, let him go. He feels responsible and he needs to search for her on his own for awhile."  
"Since when did you become 'Mr. Insightful'?" asked Crichton.  
"I didn't. It's just how I would feel. We'll look for her ourselves. We are thinking more clearly and will probably be able to find her quickest. After he's had time to calm himself, he will probably seek us out."  
"I hope you're right," said Aeryn as she checked her holstered pulse pistol. "Lets divide up then shall we and find our wayward child."  
"You should probably have said 'children' now that we have another one wandering around out there," said John.  
  
Away from the others, Berret allowed himself a few microts to pause and collect his thoughts. If he were Chiana, he asked himself, where would he go? He looked about trying to prioritize what the Nebari would do. He decided that if he were Chiana his first priorities would be food, shopping, or snurching... but not necessary in that order, so he headed toward the market and vender stands. The Shrike spend over an half arn showing Chiana's holophoto to shop owners and stand purveyors until he'd hit upon an old woman who'd remembered the girl buying a sandwich and a few snack cubes from her late the afternoon before. Berret thanked the woman and headed off in the direction that she'd said Chiana had taken. Depending on what the storefronts had for sale, the Shrike stopped at the ones selling items that he was sure would have attracted her attention. He continued on for six more blocks when suddenly he's lost the trail of beings who had remembered seeing her, the last five places he'd checked turned up nothing. He was standing in front of a shop that sold a mixture of items, one of which was jewelry... something he was sure would have interested Chiana. However the sign in the doorway said that the owner had closed the business for the day.  
Berret stood for a moment and considered his next move. A man stood on the nearby corner with a cart of fruits and vegetables. On the off chance, Berret approached the man and showed him Chiana's image. To his surprise the peddler recognized her right away,  
"Yes... yes, I see her. Very pretty, very pretty. It was here last night almost on this very spot, just after the dinner hour. I see her go over there." The man pointed to a tavern across the street that even at this hour of the day was opened and doing business.  
"That would figure," said Berret after he gave the man his thanks.  
The Shrike crossed the street and entered the Pub. He worked his way through the semi-crowed tables toward the bar and was astonished to see Aeryn and John already there talking with the bartender. The pair looked up just as Berret approached.  
"Hey, Berret. Any luck?" asked John. Berret shook his head. John turned back and thanked the bartender who barely gave him a glance as he continued performing the mug wiping ritual that barkeeps everywhere seemed to always be performing at all times.  
"We've been checking all the drinking establishments for Chiana that we've come across," explained Aeryn.  
"Yeah," agreed John as he slid his copy of the Nebari girl's photo back into a pocket, "This guy says she hasn't been in here."  
"Really?" said the Shrike looking back at the man.  
Before John or Aeryn could stop him, Berret had reached over and slammed the man's head down on to the bar top and pinned it there. There was a metallic ring as the blades of his right gauntlet sprang out followed by a heavy thud as he buried them halfway into the bar top just a henta from the barkeep's nose.  
"What the hell are you doing?" exclaimed John as the bartender started to make a wordless cry, his eye's crossing as he tried to focus on the sharp blades that were making a slight strange hum.  
"He's lying!" Berret snarled menacingly.  
"You don't know that for sure!" said Aeryn as she tried to yank Berret off the man.  
"She was seen entering this place last night," the Shrike growled at the barkeeper.  
"It wasn't me last night. I work the day shift... that wasn't me!" protested the pinned man.  
"Man, you are losing it!" John hissed in a low voice to Berret. "Let him up. He doesn't know anything."  
Berret reluctantly released his hold on the bartender. The man shot up and away from the Shrike as quickly as he was able. Berret pulled and with a moaning groan the blades wrenched free of the wooden bar top.  
"Forgive our friend here, he's very worried about our other friend," Aeryn said to the man behind the bar, "Will this person who worked last night be here again tonight?"  
The man nodded, still looking fearfully at the glaring Shrike.  
"Good," said John, "Then we'll stop back later tonight to talk with him. Sorry for the 'misunderstanding'."  
Berret wasn't about to let it go at that. Holding the gauntlet up, he let the bartender watch the wicked blades retracted with a hard snap.  
"And should your friend not be here tonight for some reason... I will find you, and hold you very dearly responsible," the Shrike warned.  
The barkeep visibly swallowed and then glanced down at the twin holes in his bar top.  
"Come on, before you get us arrested," said Crichton as he dragged the Shrike out by one arm. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chiana awoke with a massive headache. She tried to open her eyes but the light stabbed into them like hot needles so she kept them closed.  
"What the frell was I drinking last night?" she groggily asked herself. The last thing she remembered was sitting in a tavern having a drink to celebrate her decision to ask Berret to bond. She'd met a funny little man named Kippso or Klepto who asked if she was traveling alone after seeing her bag. He seemed harmless and was interested in hearing her story so she remembered having several drinks with him. She remembered getting as far as her decision to leave Moya after the last round he'd bought and she started to feel funny. After that she couldn't remember anything at all. She finally worked up the nerve to pry open her eyes despite the pain. Looking around she found she definitely didn't recognize the place she was in. She was lying flat out on a pallet on the floor. Someone must have found her dren-faced and taken her somewhere to sober up she reasoned. She tried rolling over and then she heard a noise that froze her blood. When she had moved there was the rattle of a chain. Alert now, she shot upright... ignoring the pounding in her head. To her horror she discovered that someone had fastened a thick metal manacle around one of her ankles connected to a equally heavy chain. Pulling on the length of chain she found that the other end was connected to a metal ring that was part of the quickcrete floor.  
"Oh my Goddess, oh my Goddess!" she murmured over and over again.  
She was someone's prisoner.  
  
The crewmates regrouped at the Transport Pod. After Aeryn and John filled D'argo and the others in on their lead. Zhaan, Malika, and Andar offered to go out and bring back some food for lunch from one of the area's refreshment houses. John called up to Moya to fill in the rest of the crew,  
"Any luck, John?" asked Sean from aboard Moya.  
"We have one lead, but we can't follow up on it till later tonight," he reported.  
"How's tall, dark, and extra gloomy taking it?"  
"Well, despite the fact he killed a bar and scared the dren out of the bartender; I'd say quite well for Mr. Subtle. How you and Sparky getting along?"   
"His royal 'Pain in the ass' has been unusually quiet. If I didn't know better, I'd say he was actually too worried about Chiana to cause much trouble. He say's his 'Marrmocks', whatever they are, are telling him something's terribly wrong."  
"He's probably just hungry and doesn't realize it yet. Okay, we'll keep you posted," John said in signing off.  
"Okay, I'll inform Pilot. If you get into trouble, just howler and I'll jump into a Prowler and be there in a flash," said Sean, John could almost hear the smile in the younger Crichton's voice.  
"And Aeryn or Malika would slowly beat you to death afterwards if you scratched one of their beloved ships... I'll talk to you later," John chuckled as he keyed off his comm.  
  
Berret watched the hustle and bustle of the landing port and check his chron for the sixth time in the last quarter arn. Irritated with how slow the time was passing, he spun around back toward the Pod... and almost walked straight into Zhaan.  
"You didn't eat much," observed the Priestess.  
"I'm not hungry," said Berret in reply.  
Zhaan tilted her head as she regarded him, "At least you're sure about something."  
"What is that suppose to mean?"  
"It means you are capable of knowing your mind when it pleases you."  
Berret watched the Delvian, unsure where the conversation was leading. The Pa'u simply remained standing there with her slightly pleasant smile and saying nothing more. The Shrike knew the priestess could wield calmness and patience like a weapon, just as she was doing now.  
"I'm not sure I understand where this discussion is going?" Berret said.  
"I think you do. I believe it is time for you to come to terms with your feelings about Chiana."  
"I don't know what you are referring too," said Berret coolly and then made to leave.  
"That is enough!" snapped Zhaan as she seized him by one arm as he tried to push passed her. "I assure you, Jared. You may believe you are fooling everyone," she said harshly, "but the only one you are fooling is yourself. Even then, deep inside yourself, you cannot hold the deceit for long. You know you love her."  
"I am not capable of loving... anyone," answered the Shrike, his voice turning hard and dispassionate.  
Without warning, the Delvian hauled off and slapped Berret across the face.  
"You lie! Next you will try telling me you have no feelings for me!" she said with a wounded look.  
Berret was about to deny her assertion, when she cut him off, "Don't forget, I am the one other person you cannot tell untruths to. We have shared Unity; I know your heart and mind as well as you do. Deep inside you there beats a human heart that yearns to love and be loved, only you keep it chained and locked away with your shame." Zhaan gently took the sides his face with her hands and rested her forehead against his. "Set it free before it withers and dies," she pleaded with him in a low voice.  
Zhaan blue eyes felt like they were boring their way through to his soul. The anguish in her voice cutting him to the bone, eroding away the very way he perceived himself... stripping him bare.  
"I - I don't know how..." he finally said hesitantly, his defenses crumbling.  
"Admit it... admit you care for her."  
"I do... care for her," he said haltingly, almost as if he'd had to force the words out.  
Zhaan smiled a little in encouragement and brushed his cheek, "You see, a small step... now tell me you love her." Berret started to pull away attempting to flee the feelings she was forcing him to confront head on, but the Delvian's grip held him firm. "Tell me you love her," she said more insistently.  
"That wouldn't matter."  
"It does matter. Tell me!"  
"She could never feel the same way about me!"  
"You don't know that. Say it!"  
"With everything I have..." Berret began to say when Zhaan pulled him in closer and practically shouted in his face,  
"And nothing! TELL ME!"  
As if something snapped, a dam of emotion burst somewhere inside of the Shrike. Fear, grief, sadness, and hate rolled around in a whirlpool of despair threatening to drown him.  
"I LOVE HER!" Berret suddenly found himself shouting back at the Priestess. Suddenly other feelings like joy, happiness, and maybe... love and the glimmer of hope, began to mix with the other emotions that ran through the ex-assassin. "I love her more than my life itself. I find myself aching for her touch, straining to hear her every sigh. To feel her breathe on my face, or the brush of her fingertips on my skin when our hands touch. I want nothing more then to be with her every waking moment and to feel her breath beside me while she sleeps. To hear her say my name... and see her smile."  
Berret paused to catch his breath, slightly amazed and drained by the proclamation that had poured out of him. He had finally done it, voiced the furtive dream to another.  
"Is that what you wanted to hear?" he asked quietly a few microts later.  
Zhaan smiled and ran a hand affectionately along the side of his head, stroking his hair.  
"No. It was what you needed to hear," was all she said, and then she turned away to rejoin the others.  
"It matters little," he said at her departing back, some of the hardness trying to creep back into his voice. "Chiana could never love... never want to be with, someone like me."  
Zhaan paused for a microt and looked back over one shoulder at the man.  
"That is not for you to decide," she said before turning back and continuing on her way.  
  
Jessom cackled as he ran his hands along Chiana's body; making the bound Nebari girl try to squirm away from his touch.   
"She's a nice one. Just look at this frelling body. That glip Kippso's outdone himself finding her," he said to his overweight partner.  
Melton grinned widely and nodded his head, making his fat cheeks jiggle with the motion. The pair had moved the girl from the storage basement to the backroom on the first floor of the storefront. The call had come from their employer a few microns earlier that he was sending someone to pick up the recently purchased Nebari slave. Jessom's hand moved back further and gave Chiana's behind a hard squeeze, the sudden pinch making her jump and cry out to his delight.  
"It's a shame we never got a chance to try you out, I bet you're a real smooth ride," he told the gagged girl with a smile that showed his decaying teeth. "But don't worry, you little tralk. Whatever pleasure house Lucsen sells you too, you can be sure old Melton and me will visit you at it. Isn't that right, Meltie?"  
Chiana's eyes grew wider as her worst fears were realized; she had become a slave and was being sold to a pleasure house. She knew that the life expectancy of pleasure slaves out here in the Uncharted Territories wasn't very long. Sometimes it was easier to kill a used up slave rather that try and sell them again. Jesson laughed at the growing horror in her eyes.   
"We'll have plenty of long nights in the future to get to know you," he promised her. "I imagine we could become two of your best customers," he added with another pinch in a tender place.  
With his hands and fingers fondling and probing her helpless body, Chiana closed her eyes tightly and tried to imagine herself someplace else far away.  
  
The rest of the day was mental torture for Berret. The crew had spread out once again to cover the trading town in an attempt to find the wayward Nebari. They could locate no one new who could remember seeing the young woman. The huge force shield generators made it hard for the comms to work surface to surface so the shipmates arranged to meet back at the Pod before heading back to the saloon where Chiana was seen the night before. John extracted a promise from Berret to behave himself on this trip to the tavern and to Crichton's surprise the man had agreed with no debate. He'd noticed that the Shrike seemed very quiet and deep in thought at times after Zhaan had found him and they'd had a talk. Whatever the Delvian had said to the ex-assassin, he had appeared more subdued the rest of the afternoon. The group entered the nightspot and found the bartender who had worked the night before tending the bar. John and his new wife questioned the man for almost ten microns but even after showing the barkeeper Chiana's holophoto, the man said he couldn't remember for sure if he had seen her the night before. The bartender, whose name was Jeoff, gave them the addresses of several other trendy pubs and suggested that she might be found at one of them if she liked the nightlife. Berret had stood off to one side and remained silent as Aeryn and Crichton interviewed the man. John nodded to him as they gathered the rest of their friends around them, happy that the Shrike had kept his word about remaining under control this time around.  
  
The friends decided that they would split up and go in singles or pairs to check out the other taverns that Jeoff had mentioned. Outside the Inn they all agreed to met back again at the Transport Pod after they had looked around at their assigned establishments. Berret went his own way, the others thinking that the man wanted to be alone with his disappointed about the lead turning into a dead-end. Berret headed off toward one of the clubs but only went a short way before turning back toward the original tavern. He ducked down between the buildings to the back of the place and waited silently by the back door in the shadows. He didn't have to wait long before the back door opened and Jeoff appeared hauling a trashcan over to a large disposal bin. The man emptied the can and didn't seem to be very surprised to find Berret standing behind him when he turned around.  
"You're with them, that's looking for that Nebari girl that was here last night, aren't you?" he said to the black-cloaked figure.  
"Yes. You did see her here last night then," the Shrike said.  
Jeoff nodded, "I'd hoped your friends would wise up and wait to talk someplace less public. Yeah, she was here... but she left with some rather unpleasant company."  
"Do you have the name of this 'company'?" asked Berret, his eyes burning silver in the darkness.  
The bartender didn't seemed too fazed by the strange eyes of the man as he acquiesce and continued,  
"Your friend seemed like a nice girl and she said she was here celebrating something..."  
"Celebrating what?" interrupted Berret.  
"I don't know. She just said she had something to be happy about and that she was in the mood to celebrate a little."  
"I see," said the Shrike looking crestfallen. "Could it be she was celebrating being free of him?" he asked himself. Was it possible that he was such an overburden to the girl that she'd rather leave the safety of Moya and the others than to stay and have to be near him?  
"What I'm worried about is who she left here with yesterday night," said Jeoff continuing the story, "She started drinking with a guy named Kippso. He's a short little piece of dren, but he's involved with some very serious people... people you don't want to frell with."  
"Why is that?" asked the Shrike as he became more worried for Chiana by the microt.  
"Look... I can get hurt. Very, very, hurt... and I mean hurt as in dead if anyone found out I was talking to you about this."  
"I understand and I thank you for taking the risk. I will speak of this to no one," assured the ex-assassin.  
The man checked over his shoulder back toward the tavern's doorway to make sure no one was listening.  
"These people are into an illegal business. One that's very profitable and where sometimes people get killed in. The only reason I'm sticking my neck out right now is because one of my friend's younger sisters got 'involved' and disappeared several cycles back... no one's ever seen her again."  
"What kind of business?" queried the Shrike.  
"Slavery."  
"Where could I find this Kippso?" Berret asked urgently.  
  
The Shrike ran back to the landing port and boarded the Pod. None of the others had yet returned. Berret tore open a storage locker and dug through an equipment bag. He shoved a few extra power clips for his pulse pistols into pockets and then just before he left the ship decided on taking the sword from Wraith that he had brought down with him. He closed the transport up and tried again as he had several times before to get his comm working. The town had been testing the field generators on and off throughout the night preparing for the next major storm that was due to hit in the next few days. With the turbines running, comm links sometimes didn't work as well as they should. He ran down to the Pod that Chiana had brought and climbed aboard it. Several microts later the ship lifted off and head for the opposite side of the town. The Shrike piloted the Pod faster then was safe this close to the ground but he was beyond caring, Chiana was in danger and it was his fault. If he found the Nebari he would get her out of the situation whatever way he could, she may not yet realize that she was in trouble or she might have already been chained and collared. Whatever had happened he would get her out and take her back to Moya. Afterwards he would take the Wraith and leave the Leviathan so that Chiana didn't feel she had too. It would be the fair thing, after all it was her home first and these people had done more for him than he had the right to expect.   
He banked the Pod and a few microns later set it down at a nearby commerce port.  
  
Kippso was lucky. He had a pocketful of credits from turning over that tralk from last night; he had a drink in his hand and two beautiful party girls hanging on his every word. So what did it matter if they'd be gone the microt his money was totally spent... at this moment, he was king of the world. He'd just slipped a five credit note into the cleavage of one of the bar girls when a tall man in a long black cloak came into the club. By the reaction of his two new female friends he could tell they found him quite attractive, though there was something about his eyes that said he was a very cold man. While some women are attracted to a hint of danger, the aura about the dark figure implied deadly. Not something his two companions were ready to tempt... at least not until his money ran out. Kippso watched the man scan the drinking hole until his dead eyes found his own. The slaver suppressed a shutter and was strangely relieved when the other man moved his gaze on elsewhere. He wandered over to the bar and leaned over to speak to the employee behind it for several microts. Kippso was stunned when the barkeep looked over the crowd, then seeing him at his table, pointed him out to the dark man. The cloaked figure thanked the bartender and headed over in his direction. Kippso found himself tensing as the man stopped before his table and said,  
"You are Kippso." It was a statement, not a question.  
Kippso nodded, "Do I know you?" the slave runner asked. Up close, the man's eyes were even more soulless then he first thought.  
"No. I have heard that you are the man to talk to about acquiring certain...'unusual trade items'."  
"I think you're mistaken, I really don't know what you're talking about," Kippso said trying his best to seem at ease between the two bar girls.  
The man frowned. "I see. Perhaps I have the wrong Kippso. The one I am looking for deals in high priced collectables." The man started to turn away but Kippso stopped him after he'd used the paraphrasing that his employers used when referring to their business in public.  
"What sort of collectables?" he asked when the man turned back to him.  
"The kind that must be gathered... discreetly. My client is willing to pay top price," replied the man.  
"I see. I am that Kippso you are looking for," he told him as he started to smell more credits and his greed took hold of him. He turned to his feminine companions saying,  
"Ladies if you will excuse me for a few microts while I talk business with this gentleman."  
Kippso slipped out from between the pair of females and gestured for Berret to follow him out a side doorway. Outside in the darkness he eagerly turned to the cloaked man and asked,  
"So what exactly are you looking for?"  
"Information," said Berret.  
"On what?" Kippso asked in bewilderment, wondering what happened to his interest in slaves.  
"Your employer. You have someone that belongs to me," Berret said.   
Kippso realized he was in trouble. He racked his brain and tried to think which tralk he had lured away in his career had come back to haunt him. The man's eyes had started to turn an eerie silver as soon as they had exited the tavern into the dark side alley. He didn't know of any species with that ability or trait and he would have remembered a female whose eyes did something like that. The only slave he'd snared recently was that Nebari, it had to be her. The little bitch hadn't been alone after all, now someone has come looking for her. His employers definitely wouldn't like this complication... and it was up to him to take care of it, especially if he wanted to continue on living.  
Kippso's hand creped under his coat and drew the dagger he kept hidden there. He was small, but he was quick as a Whipsnake. As soon as the blade cleared its sheath he thrust it at the tall man's chest with all his might. He was just silently congratulating himself for getting the drop on this trouble maker when to his horror the blade struck something hard and snapped off with the impact. The stranger swept back his cloak; to Kippso's amazement the man was wearing some sort of armor underneath. The slave runner watched stunned as the man casually inspected his breastplate and found no damage, however his finger found a hole in his cloak where the blade had passed through it. Glaring back up at Kippso, the man began to growl in annoyance. With an audible gulp, he spun on his heel and turned to run for his life.  
  
With one hand Berret caught the fleeing man by the collar and flung him into a wall. Before the small man could get back to his feet and run again, Berret grabbed him by the front of his coat and lifted him clear of the ground so the smaller man was at eye level with him.  
"What do you want?" cried Kippso in terror as he hung looking into the Shrike's silver-tinted eyes.  
"Rumor has it that you know the whereabouts of a young Nebari girl," said Berret.  
"I-I don't know anything about any Nebari girl... you have the wrong man," Kippso whined.  
Without further word, Berret slammed the man hard enough into the wall he was pinned against to crack it's siding. He then flipped the man over to land flat on his back in the alleyway. The Shrike towered over Kippso menacingly and one heavy metal shod boot came down on his chest, pinning him in place on the ground.  
"You lie," he said forebodingly, "You were seen in her company less then a solar day ago."  
Berret swept back his cloak further to reveal the long handle of the sword struck through his belt.  
"I'm getting tired of games. The next lie you tell me I will lop off an arm... and each time you lie after that it will cost you another limb until there are no more left. Now... where did you take her?"  
"I can't tell you... they'll kill me if I do!" exclaimed Kippso in a panic.  
Berret smiled a wicked smile, "Haven't you been paying attention? I'm going to kill you here and now if you don't."   
  
Lucsen turned as Overseer Verser entered his study followed by two guards dragging the struggling chain-bound Nebari girl in. The Slaver noticed something odd about her face and went to his newly purchased property. He grabbed the girl under her chin and turned her head from one side to the other as he examined her.  
"What is this?" he asked upon seeing a bluish bruise developing on one of the girl's gray cheeks.  
"The little bitch got smart and kneed one of the guards, I had to teach her a lesson," replied Verser.  
Without warning Lucsen spun and backhanded the other man across the face.  
"How many frelling times do I have to tell you? Never in the face! Clients do NOT pay for damaged merchandise," he spat at the man.  
"I'm sorry! She's a fighter... and in the heat of the moment, I forgot," apologized the Overseer.  
"Any profit I lose on her will come out of your pay," said Lucsen. Seeing the smirk on Chiana's face the man whirled and drove a fist into her stomach. The force of the blow doubled the girl over onto the floor. "This is how you handle unruly slaves," he said as he produced a small box and touched the metal prongs at one end to the gasping Nebari girl. There was the crackle of electricity and Chiana's back arched in pain, her scream filling the room. The man used the device several more times on the girl before asking, "Now... are you going to behave yourself like a good tralk from here on?"  
"Yes," Chiana gasped out from where she was still rolled up in a ball on the floor, "Please... no more. I'll do anything you want."  
"That you will," the Slave master said as if it was a promise. The man turned back to Verser and handed him the small black box he'd just used on her. "You see? No more problems. Clean the tralk up and do your best to hide the bruise. There's a client coming this evening, and he's interested in purchasing a young Nebari female for his pleasure house. Get a collar ready for her and make sure she stays compliant, I'm sure he'll want to test her out himself." 


	4. Chapter 3

Melton had just won his fifth straight hand of jinga-cards against Jessom and was gathering up his winnings when the front window of the shop they used as a front for their slaver operation exploded inward and a man-sized lump crashed limply to the floor.  
"What the frell!" shouted Jessom as he leaped to his feet, knocking over the table and several chairs in the process. Melton lumbered to his feet just a microt behind him and had to dodge the flying furniture.  
Both men pulled their compact pulse pistols from concealment and pointed them at the moaning heap on the floor. They edged closer, keeping the man lying on the dirty carpet covered.   
"Who the frell is it?" hissed Melton.  
Jessom used the toe of his boot to flip the body over onto it's back so they could see it's face.  
"It's that idiot, Kippso," said Melton in surprise.  
"What the yotz happened to him?" Jessom asked.  
Both men suddenly became aware that they were no longer alone in the room with the unconscious Kippso. Looking back over at the smashed front window they saw a dark figure squatting balanced on the broken window's sill, looking like a silent bird of prey. The three figures stared silently at each other for what seemed like forever but could only have been a few microts in real time.  
"Knock - knock," it finally said.  
"Dren!" shouted Jesson as he reacted and spun toward the figure, punching his pistol in the intruder's direction. The figure seemed to flow shapelessly off the windowsill. Before Jessom could bring the firearm to bear on the dark shape, an armor-clad hand caught his gun hand, keeping him from being able to successfully point the weapon. There was a hissing of razor sharp metal being drawn and in an eye blink, a length of steel sliced up through the wrist of the arm holding the pulse pistol. The grasp on his gun hand suddenly gone, Jesson drew back his arm and gazed dumbfounded at the stump where his limb use to be... a microt later he started to scream. Still holding the severed hand and pulse-pistol, Berret slammed them both into Melton's face with stunning force. The fat man's head snapped backwards and he staggered rearward stopping only after he fell onto their card table, his weight crushing it flat. His hands automatically going to his damaged face, he dropped his own weapon. Both pulse pistols and the detached limb flew off to be lost somewhere among the overturned and recently smashed furniture in the storefront.  
  
After looking about the store for more hidden enemies, Berret re-sheathed his sword. He stepped over Kippso's unconscious body and pushed the bleeding Jessom over to stand next to the dazed Melton. The slaver trying to wrap a clothe around his fresh stump to stop the bleeding.  
"My hand! You frelling bastard..." he said almost in tears from the shock, "Look what you did to my hand."  
"Such is life," said Berret dispassionately, "I have some questions for you."  
The Shrike's casual dismissal of the damage he'd caused and the sudden loss of his limb angered the slave trader. Jessom attempted to stand up straighter and then demanded through teeth clench against the burning pain in his arm,  
"Who the frell are you? Don't you know who you're frellin' with? You're a dead man!" he said around gasps of agony. Berret casually looked around the shop again before answering the slave runner's threat.  
"My good friend... Kippso there," he began, ignoring the threat, "Tells me you're running an illegal slaving ring here."  
"He's frelling dead too!" snarled Jessom and then delivered a vicious kick to Kippso's ribs. The man's limp body didn't respond to the sudden impact of the slaver's boot.  
"Whatever, that is not my concern," said the Shrike. "What does concern me is that you and your employer have recently acquired a Nebari female... a young Nebari female. I want to know where she is?"  
Jessom made an attempt to smile evilly believing he'd finally found some leverage over the intruder.  
"Oh yeah, I remember her. She's going to fetch a good price on the block. She frelled us all in the backroom before the boss picked her up, had a real party with her. She was the wildest ride I ever had," he said tauntingly.  
Berret leaned in closer to the man; silver-tinted eyes gleaming like ice chips, "Doubtful... I don't smell her on you."  
The slaver pulled away from the Shrike's alien stare and odd statement, "What are you? Part Luxan?"   
"No," answered Berret. "Something - much - worse."   
"It doesn't matter, she's probably been sold to a pleasure house by now," Jesson sneered. "She's probably already on her back and frelling her sweet eema off for her keep at this very microt."  
"She had better not be... for all your sakes," the Shrike warned. "I'm only going to ask you one more time. Where did your employer take her?"   
"Get frelled!" spat Jesson as he squared his jaw in defiance.   
"Wrong answer," Berret said calmly. In a blur the sword left it's scabbard and Jessom's head leaped off his neck. The recovered Melton, who was still standing next to the late Jessom, was showered with the blood that was spurting from his partner's neck. Jessom's head hit the floor three microts before his body even started to slump in that direction. Berret waited patiently until the body was out of the way and then laid the blade of his bloodstained sword on the wide-eyed Melton's shoulder. The man looked at the Shrike in fear as the assassin asked him in an off-handed, but emotionless voice,  
"Do you think I over-reacted?"  
Melton hastily shook his head in the negative, his fat jowls jiggling with the effort.  
"Good then," said the Shrike with a pleased smile that held a slight hint of insanity in it. "Same question. Same consequences."  
  
Chiana had been rushed off to the slave cells and cleaned up by a group of house slaves. An older female slave under the overseer's direction used make-up to hide the bruise that Verser had given her. The man finally left the room with parting instructions for her not to mess or smear the make-up under pain of more punishment from the small electric box that Lucsen had used on her. Chiana heard the thick bolt of the lock slide home as the heavy wooden door was secured behind him. Laid out on the sleeping pallet next to her was the skimpy loin-clothe that she was told she would wear when her prospective buyer examined her. She was to be practically naked in front of a total stranger and sold like a piece of property, which is what she'd found she'd become. They had allowed her to wear her own clothing until the customer arrived so she wouldn't ruin the flimsy loin-clothe. Despite her resolve not to, she almost allowed herself to let the tears fall that she'd been holding back. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes.  
"Why did she ever leave Moya?" she thought to herself. Once she was sold and smuggled off planet the others would never be able to find her again. That is if they even tried looking. As far as they knew she had left the Leviathan of her own free will. With her luck, they might decide to respect her decision and let her go her own way and not search for her at all. She reached into the small secret pocket she had sewn into her outfit and pulled out the bonding earrings. Her capturers had missed the little pocket with its tiny treasure when they had searched her. With a small sob, she realized she would never have the chance to ask Berret if he would consider bonding to her. She would never get to show him how important he had become to her, to tell him of what she believed their future could be if he would only give them a chance. She'd thought the earrings where so perfect for them when she saw them; she even paid for them honestly out of her small stash of currency... she had done everything right. Now because of one twist of fate, she would never see his face again. Starting to sob harder, she knelt on the floor and waited to accept what fate had in store for her.  
  
Almost an arn later a servant nervously entered Lucsen's private study. The slave master looked up from his ledger books as the servant cleared his throat and said,  
"Pardon me, sir... but you have an unexpected visitor."  
Lucsen waved the butler off, "Tell whoever it is to go away and come back tomorrow. I'm preparing to entertain an important guest tonight."  
The servant again cleared his throat and apprehensively went on. "I think you might want to see this man, sir. He's from the Syndicate... he's an Enforcer."  
Lucsen dropped his pen and turned pale, "A Shrike? Here? Now?" he asked.  
The servant nodded his almost totally bald head, "Yes, Sir. He's waiting in the guest lounge."  
"What does he want? I've already sent off the Syndicate's percentage of this half cycle's profits. Everything should be all right," he said worriedly.  
"He only said he wishes to speak with you about an important matter," answered the butler.  
"I see," said Lucsen as he rose from his chair. "I'll see to our visitor. Find Verser and tell him to make sure everything is ready for our client. Tell him to prepare the special room in case our Nebari slut has to be restrained while she's being 'inspected'."  
"As you wish, sir," the man said as he followed Lucsen out the study's door.  
Lucsen walked down to the room used to greet guests and he found his hands sweating. "Calm!" he thought to himself. If the Syndicate had sent the Shrike to assassinate him, the Enforcer would not have knocked on his front door and simply announced it. It had to be something else that the Black Syndicate wanted. It sometimes wasn't unusual for them to send an Enforcer to rely changes in percentage payouts, having a professional killer as your contract breaker helped to stop most of the disagreements and arguments from ever arising in most cases. As his business was quite lucrative, Lucsen wouldn't mind too much having to pay a little extra more to the crime syndicate for protection and license to continue operating in the Territories. Lucsen entered lounge to find the tall, black-cloaked and hooded man, standing in the middle of the room silently waiting. He let out a pent up breath he didn't realize he was holding. "At least this Enforcer is a humanoid," he thought. It made him nervous when the assassins where of another species. You never could tell with them what they might do. He'd heard that some of the alien Enforcers like to eat their prey... sometimes while it was still alive.  
"How can I be of service to you?" he asked trying to sound at ease and friendly.  
The man's armor covered arms appeared from under his cloak and lowered the hood from his head. Lucsen's eyes tracked the deadly icon covered gauntlets and he suppressed a shutter knowing the nefarious bladed weapons they hid. He was so intent on the weapons, he almost forgot to look at the man's face.  
He was Sebacean and he then realized the few times he'd seen an Enforcer, one had never removed their hood and revealed their face before.  
"I've come for a slave," the Shrike announced.  
"Of course. Which Scarren house do you serve? I know all the preferences of the Syndicate heads that deal or are interested in slaves. I'm sure I have or can find what your master needs."  
"No need to know the house, just show me your slaves and I will find the one I want," replied the Enforcer.  
Something was odd here, thought Lucsen. The man's voice was unemotional and detached but there was a strange tone to it. His eyes were very alert for a Shrike; they didn't quite have the dead stare most of them had.  
"Well, that will take some time. We have many slaves to chose from," Lucsen replied.  
The Shrike stepped forward and took Lucsen by the arm, then gave him what could almost be a friendly smile. A smile Lucsen noticed, that didn't touch the Enforcer's strange blue eyes in the slightest.  
"Then we should get started. Take me to where you keep them," the assassin instructed.  
"As you wish, Lord Shrike," answered the slave master. Something was definitely wrong here but he wasn't sure what. He began to lead the Enforcer toward what he called his showroom. Reaching into his pocket he keyed a warning device that would alert his men. Once in the showroom they would be constantly monitored. If he uttered a keyword, the security system would over-ride and the room would fill with armed men in a microt. Until he was sure the Shrike wasn't who he said he was and representing the Syndicate, he'd play his cards close. There was no way he was going to risk the Black Syndicate's anger, but if the man turned out to be a phony... he wouldn't leave here alive.  
  
Chiana heard voices coming from the other room. She dried her eyes and readied herself for what was to come. No one had arrived and instructed her to change into the revealing loin-clothe yet, but she'd already decided that she wouldn't don the tiny piece of material without a fight. Let them mark her up, maybe they would beat her so badly that no one would want her. If she where lucky, maybe Verser would slip up and kill her by mistake. She'd rather die then be owned. With a sad chuckle she realized how much she had change. Cycles before she would have done anything she had to do to survive. Now she was wishing for death before dishonor, somewhere along the way D'argo had began to rub off on her... or she had become so use to being free that she couldn't bear the thought of being chained again. She could hear other doors opening and closing and different female voices along with the rattle of chains. She pressed her ear against the thick door to see if she could hear what was being said on the other side. She could hear the slave handlers ushering slaves in and out, the sound of Lucsen's voice praising the attributes of each slave, and frell her... she thought she could her the sound of Berret's voice in the next room. Her mind was definitely playing tricks on her. Another sniffle escaped her as she thought of the human she would never lay eyes on again. She leaned back against the door and got her emotions under control. Through the heavy wood she heard somebody mention the word "Nebari" and then more loud voices as if people were arguing.   
"This is it," she thought. "Any microt they're going to come thought that door and drag me out."  
She pressed her ear against the door once more and this time she heard,  
"You have something that belongs to me, Lucsen. The Nebari girl... I want her now!"  
"Berret," murmured Chiana wishfully... and then all hezmana broke loose in the next room.  
  
Berret let Lucsen parade several slaves in front of him, but none of them were Chiana. The more collared prisoners he saw the more his anger began to smolder. He rejected each and every one until Lucsen asked in exasperation,  
"Can you tell me what kind of slave exactly the Syndicate is looking for? Maybe then we can narrow down the choices."  
The Shrike smiled malevolently, "I never said I was with the Syndicate."   
Lucsen faltered. He thought the man might be an imposter but he never expected him to come out and admit it freely. Seeing the stunned look on the slaver's face, Berret continued as if it were business as usual.  
"But since you asked. I'm looking for a Nebari girl. About yea tall," he said, holding his hand up at approximately Chiana's height. "Hair cut short, fuzzy shoulder pads and a real bad disposition. I'm told you have her here."   
"You're... you're... MAD!" stammered Lucsen. "Who do you think you are coming here?" he said in disbelieve.  
"So I've been told, Lucsen," answered Berret offhandedly. "As to who I think I am. I'm the man who's going to frell your day all up... in a very bad way if I don't get what I want."  
"You're insane," Lucsen said again in disbelieve.  
Berret moved like lighting and grabbed the man by his expensive suit then pulled him in close.  
"We've been over that already," he said in a hissing whisper and then picked him up off the floor. The unarmed slave handlers backed away from the angry Shrike, tripping over several cringing slaves in their haste to get away.   
"You have something that belongs to me, Lucsen. The Nebari girl... I want her now!" Berret growled.  
Shocked for a few microts, Lucsen finally rasped out one word, "Scroll-lock!"  
Behind him, several doors slammed open as their locks electronically released with the code word, next there came the sound of people rushing into the room behind him.  
"Shit," Berret said.  
  
The surprised Shrike dropped the slave trader and turned his head to look behind him, the room was filling with armed men. Lucsen pointed at the Berret and screeched, "Kill him! Kill him now!"  
Berret snarled like D'argo in a foul mood and the blades shot out of his right hand gauntlet as he took a wild swing at the slave master. The man squeaked in panic at the weapon's sudden appearance and dived for the floor. The tips of the blades tore through the fabric of his luxurious jacket as they nearly missed him. Cursing as the man scurried out a doorway, Berret drew both pulse-pistols and opened fire on the hired gunmen at almost the same instant they did on him.  
"Seven... eight... nine," the Shrike counted his opponents to himself as he hit the ground and rolled behind a heavy desk for cover. Not a good situation he considered. Especially worse now that Lucsen had managed to get away and he still hadn't learned if Chiana was still there in the building or if she'd already been sold. Pulse bolt slammed into the other side of the desk and he began to think he should have waited until the others could have come with him on the rescue mission. As usual where Chiana was concerned, he didn't always do the logical thing. If this wasn't love, then he didn't know what was. It was too bad he had realized it too late. One man tried to scramble toward a couch closer to the Shrike's position and Berret shot him through the chest for his troubles.  
"Eight." He muttered to himself, feeling slightly uplifted that the odds were slowly narrowing. A few microts later two more men rushed into the room and took cover. "Oh frell," said Berret to himself. "That would just figure."  
The ex-assassin knew that his time was running out. Soon there would be too many men converging on the room and then no one would be escaping the slave house. He had to do something quick or he was dead right here, but he didn't have the slightest idea how he was going to get out of this. He was beginning to think that he had failed the Nebari girl and as he'd seen Zhaan do a hundred times he looked toward the heavens and asked the Goddess for help in his desperate time. Just as he finished the quick prayer the Pa'u had taught him it dawned on him what he was looking at.  
"Ask and thou will receive," he murmured.   
The ceiling above his head was made entirely of Kromian slate marble. Very expensive, very thick, very heavy... and had a very nasty habit of shattering into very sharp pieces when it broke. Grinning with the maliciousness of his idea, Berret set both pistols' power levels to high. Waiting for a lull in the battle, he sprang up over the top of his cover and unloaded both pistols into the ceiling above the other group of armed men. Ducking back down, he crawled into the cubbyhole of the desk and waited for the results. There was a sharp cracking and then pieces of the heavy slate began to rain down throughout the room. Razor-sharp hunks of the stone fell and speared into the floor and desktop around Berret. Across the room men began to scream as they were cut to ribbons. The fall seemed to go on forever but actually only lasted a few microts. When it stopped, the only sound left in the room was the moaning of the men left wounded. Berret uncurled from under the desk and cautiously surveyed the damage. It looked like most of the security men were dead or severely wounded, but upon seeing the Shrike, one tried to raise his pulse rifle to get one last desperate shot at him.   
Berret shot the man in the head and then moved closer to inspect the rest of his opponents. There were only two others left alive, one with big sections of slate piercing his body was attempting to crawl toward the door weaponless so Berret ignored him. The other was gurgling out his last breath and would be soon joining the rest of his comrades in death.  
Reinforcements where sure to be on the way so Berret started to kick open cell doors searching for Chiana.  
The first couple he tried held nothing but screaming slaves and he bid them leave to be out of his way. He could feel the clock running down and he started shouting her name. Each time he repeated it, it was answered with silence. He felt his heart grow heavy with the thought that he was too late and she was already gone. Kicking open the last cell, Berret had to face the reality that the Nebari wasn't there.  
"CHIANA!" he shouted as loud as he could from the middle of the empty show room.  
He was certain now he was too late when there was still no answering shout in return. His fury grew as he vowed to find Lucsen and wring the truth out of him about where he had sold her, even if it took him the rest of his life. With the last cell opened, the released slaves had fled from the room and without their constant screaming and crying the room grew more hushed.   
"Chiana," Berret whispered in despair and then turned to leave the room to begin his hunt for Lucsen.   
A low thumping noise from somewhere inside the wrecked room caught his attention just as he was about to exit. He tracked the source to a heavy wooden door off to one side. The door was different from the metal security doors that the other slaves where locked behind so he had ignored it thinking it was another entrance to the showroom. As he drew closer he realized someone was pounding on it from the other side. He was just reaching for the door latch when he heard his name being called from behind the thick slab of wood.  
"Berret!" The shout was muffled, but he was sure who it was.   
"Chiana!" he cried and his heart leaped for joy. "I'm here, Chiana!" he called as he pulled on the door to no avail. The solid door wouldn't budge nor could the door be kicked in as it flexed with each frantic blow he delivered. Chiana was yelling something to him through the door but he couldn't make out what it was. Frustrated with the obstacle, he called to her,  
"Stand clear, I'm going to shoot the lock off!"  
He received a muffled acknowledgement from the girl. Berret gave her a few microts to back way and then fired two bolts into the locking mechanism. The lock shattered and the Shrike kicked the door open. A beaten and bruised Chiana rushed out and leaped up to throw her arms around his neck.  
"I knew you'd come! I knew you'd come for me," she murmured against his shoulder.  
Berret hugged the girl tightly to him for a microt and then forced himself to push her away.  
"We still have to get out of here. Can you travel?" he asked, while giving her a quick inspection for injuries. Chiana nodded and Berret passed her one of his pulse-pistols. Grabbing one of her hands, he led the way out. 


	5. Chapter 4

The pair rushed their way out having only to stop twice to have a quick shoot out with the few guards that weren't involved with rounding up runaway slaves. Berret found himself wanting to stay and kill all the slavers, but with the freed Chiana with him, he didn't dare risk it. That debt would have to be collected another day he decided. Perhaps after he left Moya he would return to finish up this business here. They made it outside and ran for the unmanned landing field where the Transport Pod was parked. They'd just reached the ship's hatchway when a group of men led by Lucsen burst onto the far end of the field. Seeing the Shrike and his Nebari slave about to escape, the slave trader gave orders for his men to stop them. Berret spun and with a curse started firing his pistol at the group of men, but the range was too great and the bolts where falling short.  
"Come on!" cried Chiana from inside the Pod.  
"Luk ki VaIsh!" the Shrike swore in Luxan and then ran up the gangway into the Pod, the door closing behind him. Chiana was already at the co-pilot seat and the Pod lifted before the hatch had finished cycling shut. Berret made his way up to the pilot seat, glancing out side ports as he went.  
"Damn it!" he cursed as he saw the security men running for their own ships. Within microts they were lifting off in pursuit of the escaping Transport Pod.  
He reached the pilot seat and dropped into it, taking over from Chiana. He'd wished he could have brought the Wraith with her weapon systems instead, but the Pod was hardier as far as being able to handle the planet's stormy weather conditions, and it was all that had been available.  
"They're gaining!" said Chiana as she watched the scanning scopes. Berret knew that they'd never get away from the faster ships by going into orbit toward Moya. Instead he pitched the Pod's nose downward and dived back toward the planet's surface, letting the craft's greater weight assist in giving them the advantage of speed in a dive then the fighters had.   
"Where are you going?" asked Chiana excitedly.  
"I'm taking us out into the desert," answered the Shrike.  
"What the hezmana for?"  
"So we can get away. Find me a storm on the scanner that's close by... then find me a surface survey of that area from Moya's downloaded databanks."  
Chiana worked over the instruments for a few microts and then reported,   
"Major storm front bearing 183 degrees and closing... I'm accessing the data files now." She looked up from her work and said to him, "I hope you know what you're doing."  
The first pulse bolt streaked by the pod and exploded in the sand dunes under them.  
"No, I'm working by my pant's seat as John likes to say... hurry up with that survey!" Berret said.   
The Transport Pod was not made for dog fighting but Berret managed to twist and turn enough for the pulse bolts fired at them from the pursuing ships to miss. The Shrike ran the shuttle along almost at ground level, forcing the faster fighters to slow down to hug the terrain behind him.  
"I've got it!" cried the Nebari girl, "What are we looking for?  
Behind them a ship exploded as it took a turn to fast and ran itself into something unmovable.  
"We need a canyon with caves or a large cavern somewhere near the edge of the storm that's coming. It has to be big enough to land the Pod in," said Berret.  
The girl scanned the data for a few microts, gritting her teeth as several near misses shook the craft.  
"Okay, there's one six metras from us, bearing 093 degrees. We'd have to hurry; the storm's almost at that position," she reported.  
Berret banked the Pod hard over and set the throttle to full. The move cause the fighters to over shoot the transport and have to turn around to catch up. Neither of then spoke as they watched their scanners. The storm front was growing larger and starting to cover the pulsing green dot that was their destination. Behind them the red dots that indicated the following warships grew closer.  
"We're not going to make it!" said Chiana.  
"Yes, we are," replied the Shrike stubbornly as he fought to keep the bucking ship under control as it began to hit turbulence from the approaching sand storm. On the screen a red dot blinked out.  
"Look, another one's gone. Their ships must not be able to handle the punishment from the storm," the Nebari girl said.  
"More likely it's the sand getting into every thing and cutting their engines. Fighters would be built more for speed and not have all the filters a Transport Pod has," answered Berret.  
Ahead of them they could see the solid dark cloud rushing at them, looking almost like a solid wall of sand metras high and extending in both directions as far as the eye could see.  
"We're frelled!" said Berret in awe of the storm's power. He was just about to turn to the girl to apologize for failing to make it to the cavern in time, when she shot up straighter in her seat and pointed out the forward view screen,  
"There! Look!" she shouted. Ahead of them he saw the gapping maw of the cavern... their sanctuary.   
  
The storm descended in all its fury as the Pod settled to the cavern floor, out of harm's reach. Chiana and Berret watched the scanner with bated breath as each of the blips that represented a pursuing enemy ship where swept up and destroyed by the storm until the screen was clear of contacts.  
"Oh dren, that was close!" the Nebari girl sighed as the last light winked out.  
Berret nodded in silent agreement as he moved to power down the Transport Pod.   
"How long will the storm last?" asked the Pixie.  
"About one and a half solar days," he answered, trying to keep busy with make-work to avoid meeting her eyes. Even after her abduction the tension in their relationship had not abated, if anything, it seemed to have doubled now that they were back together. Berret almost felt like he would burst from the pressure. Having secured all the Pod's stations, the Shrike began to remove his armor and clean it for something else to keep busy with.  
The bruised woman sat back down in the co-pilot's seat and wordlessly stared out at the storm.  
"I suppose you're gonna say, 'I told you so'... that I always find a way to get into trouble?" Chiana asked after a few microns of silence between them.  
Berret had run out of tasks to perform and couldn't think of anymore, so he moved up and joined her in gazing out the forward view port at the storm raging outside the mouth of the cavern. Taking the seat next to her, he watched the blowing sand sketch designs in the air at the cavern's mouth.  
"No," he said after a few microts just as Chiana began to think the Shrike wasn't going to answer her question. She stole a glance at the man beside her. Chiana was surprised to see he was at a loss for words as much as she.  
"What are we going to do, 'Ret?" she finally asked him in a quiet voice.  
Berret tore his gaze away from the hypnotic chaos outside the ship to look at the battered Nebari woman. He thought about pretending he didn't understand what she was referring to in order to avoid answering, but he knew that was the coward's way out. He also knew that how he answered her question would decide the future of their relationship, whether or not they parted as enemies or friends when he left Moya. When it came down to it he was as much to blame for Chiana's recent misadventure as she was... if not more so. He was too much in the young woman's debt to treat her so unfairly.  
"I don't know," he finally answered her honestly. "I only know I don't want it to be like this between us anymore."  
Chiana looked down at something in her hands as he answered her. She seemed to be contemplating her next question with great care.  
"So what's that tell you?" she quietly asked. "Before you answer, this time I want you to think with your heart... not with your head."  
Although he thought his heart sometimes spoke an alien language, Berret already knew the answer without really having to consider it. Despite his fear of rejection, he forced himself to answer her honestly.  
"You are my heart..." he told her. Despite his resolve to tell her his feelings, he found it hard to look her in the eyes, certain of the refutation he'd see there in her dark orbs. "And that I don't want to be without you." Berret looked back out the view port. Swallowing hard, he confessed in a quiet voice, "Here in the Territories... I'm only lost and far from what was once my home, but without you... I am empty."  
The Shrike stole a glance back in her direction. Chiana only slightly nodded her head at his response. The small woman did not betray a single emotion as she continued to stare down into her cupped hands. Berret thought it was a bad sign that she refused to met his eyes. The whole time she had been missing he'd been frantic with worry of never seeing her again. He'd never be able to tell her how he felt about her, even if he didn't believe she could possibly feel the same way toward him. He steeled himself for her rejection. Even though there was no hope that the Pixie would ever care for him beyond their strained friendship as crewmates, he at least could console himself with the knowledge that he finally had the courage to tell her how he felt, before he left Moya and her life forever.  
Chiana finally spoke again after what seemed like an eternity to Berret.  
"Back there," she started then paused a microt to lick her lips as the air in the Pod seem to suddenly go as arid as the desert outside the carven. "When you were in the room outside where Lucsen was holding me prisoner. I heard you tell him that he had something that belonged to you. Did you really mean that?"  
Knowing the Nebari woman hated to be referred to or treated as property, Berret began to apologize.  
"Chiana, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it in that way at the time. It just came out..." he started.  
Chiana spun on him. "Did - You - Mean - That?" she asked again, her eyes flashing, demanding an answer from him. "Do you think that I belong to you?" she asked again.  
Berret was at a loss for what he thought was the correct answer she wanted. She was staring at him intently waiting for a reply. His first instinct was to deny the statement knowing how she would react to anyone thinking they had control over her. However something else warned him that to deny it would be the biggest mistake of his life. Unable to decide, Berret closed his eyes. Remembering her request that he answer her last question with his heart instead of his head, he ignored all the explanations and excuses his head was supplying and allowed his heart to throw caution to the wind and to answer for him once more.  
"Yes."   
The response came from Berret's lips and he felt that it was the most positive answer he'd ever given to anyone in his life, both present and unremembered past. Berret braced himself for the Pixie's anger at the applied ownership but when he opened his eyes she was back to looking at her clasped hands, an uneasy smile on her shiny black lips. After a few microts she looked back up at him.  
"I-I feel the same way," she slightly stammered. "That you belong to me, or more like... that we belong together. I never thought I'd ever feel this way about anybody. Nobody's ever wanted me around long enough for me to feel this way, that is," she explained in uncharacteristic shyness.  
Berret found himself confused why the woman would confess something of that nature instead of becoming angry with him like he thought she would. Furthermore he couldn't understand why anyone would not want Chiana's company. The girl was mischievous surely, but she had a good heart. She'd already proven that by showing a killer like himself much more compassion then he truly deserved.  
"I don't usually follow my people's customs much," she went on to say. "But I think this is the next step for us."   
She held out her open hand for him to see what she'd been holding inside it. Resting in the middle of her palm were two earrings. Each small earring was divided into three equal loops that where joined at the middle with the other ends equal distances apart to form a sort of triangle. Inside the loops was an intricate knotted design. He'd never cared much for jewelry, but something in the reverent way she displayed them to him made him pause. Suddenly he found himself thinking they were the most beautiful works of art he'd ever seen.  
"They're Nebari Bonding Earrings," she supplied before he could ask. He'd never seen a pair and it took him a few microts to understand what she was asking. Berret was shocked and deep in his chest, his heart skipped a beat.   
"You mean you're asking... that you and I... that you would consider..." he stumbled and tried to start three times. He finally paused and took a deep breath as it hit him like a physical blow... she wanted to be with him.  
"With all I have done... I'd never dared to hope that you could possibly feel that way for me," he confessed to her.  
"That's the problem, you never thought about hoping for more. You just took it for granted that I couldn't ever love you... you never asked how I felt," she said. "So, I'm asking you. Do you have an answer?"  
She looked back at the deck of the Pod, all of a sudden feeling there might be a chance he might refuse after all the problems they'd had recently.   
"We can have Zhaan and Malika perform the ceremony like they did for John and Aeryn when we get back to Moya," she suggested to cover her moment of uncertainty. "That is... if you want to? I'll understand if you don't want to be bonded to me."  
Berret recovered from his astonishment and answered quickly, "Yes... absolutely."  
"Huh?" she asked, the doubts making her ramble and momentarily forget which question he was supposed to be answering.  
"Yes. I want to be bonded to you," he said, and then added in almost a whisper, "If you'll have me."  
Her uneasy smiled transformed into a genuine smile of happiness. The Nebari girl squealed in delight as she leaped up from her seat and landed in a still stunned Berret's lap. She kissed him soundly and then hugged him to her as hard as she could.   
"You'll see, we'll be so happy together," she promised him in a whisper.  
  
Berret found himself strangely content with the small woman sitting in his lap and chattering away. Not even caring after his legs went to sleep, he was just happy to have her close again. He listened as she made plans for the celebration after the bonding ceremony and he found himself getting caught up in her excitement. She noticed he hadn't spoken in awhile, so she asked,  
"What are you thinking about?"  
Berret asked the Nebari girl, "You don't doubt that I do truly feel something for you, do you? I know I have difficulty putting emotions into words, let alone recognize what they are even after all this time. I just want you to know that I do love you. Zhaan, Shenna and all the others have always been correct. I have loved you from the first time I laid my eyes upon you in that alley. I just didn't know that was what it was yet."  
"Are you telling me that because it's what I expect to hear... or because it's what you feel?" she asked.  
"No," he said with a slight smile because he understood why she would ask that question. "I truly do love you. I just wanted to be sure you knew that is how I really feel.... how I have always felt."  
She hugged him tighter. "I know you do, and thank you for telling me," she said.   
A mischievous smile settled on her black lips a microt later and she leaned closer to him to whisper into his ear.  
"I know how we can spend the next day entertaining ourselves."  
"How?" he asked.  
"How do you think?" she purred as she brought her lips closer to his. Just short of touching her lips parted and her tongue darted out to tease him with a promise of pleasure to come. She'd teased him like this before, but to her surprise Berret pulled away and gently caught her head with both his hands before she could tease him. She wondered what was wrong as he stared into her eyes and then she understood.  
His eyes seemed to say, "Not between us... not between us ever again."  
She'd use teasing with her other lovers in the past as part of casual romance, to keep things at arms length. He was letting her know he wouldn't accept anything less then her entire soul and all of her love.  
Somewhere along the way he had started to gently caress her face, his touch light even on her bruised cheek. Chiana had become so lost in his ice blue eyes that she couldn't remember when he began the loving touch. He slowly drew her toward him, when their lips finally met it was gently and without a hint of teasing. She folded nicely into his arms, their bodies becoming one as their passion turned more urgent and the kiss deeper. Chiana last coherent thought was one of surprise. "Where did he learn this from?" she asked herself before pushing the thought aside and becoming lost in the moment. If she had been able to ask him the question... Berret would have told her his heart was teaching him how. 


End file.
